Burberry to stop destroying unsold stock

Burberry has announced it will stop the practice of destroying “unsaleable” products.

The company said the move was part of efforts to reduce waste, which include a partnership with sustainable luxury brand Elvis & Kresse to turn 120 tonnes of leather offcuts into new products over the next five years.

In results released in May the company said finished goods worth £28.6m were destroyed in the year to March 2018, including £10.4m of beauty products. This compares to destroyed goods totalling £26.9m in 2017 and £18.8m in 2016.

“We already reuse, repair, donate or recycle unsaleable products and we will continue to expand these efforts,” said Burberry.

The company also said it would no longer use real fur in its products.

Marco Gobbetti, Burberry CEO, said: “Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible. This belief is core to us at Burberry and key to our long-term success. We are committed to applying the same creativity to all parts of Burberry as we do to our products.”

Burberry said since last year, when it launched a five-year sustainability programme, it had bought 21% of its cotton through the Better Cotton Initiative, which aims to cut the environmental impact of cotton production. There is a goal to increase this to 100% by 2022. The company also has a target to become carbon neutral by 2022.

Greenpeace said: “It’s high time for the whole fashion industry to start dealing with overstock at its source: by slowing down production and rethinking the way it does business.”